Jack Black (1) (1871–)

William S. Burroughs introduces this & anyone familiar w/ his work can certainly see why! Burroughs reused the characters in this bk freely. Salt Chunk Mary & the Johnsons esp. Burroughs begins his foreword w/:

"I first read You Can't Win in 1926, in an edition bound in red cardboard. Stultified and confined by middle-class St. Louis mores, I was fascinated by this glimpse of an underworld of seedy rooming houses, pool parlors, cat houses and opium dens, of bull pens and cat burglars and hobo jungles. I learned about the Johnson Family of good bums and thieves, with a code of conduct that made more sense to me than the arbitrary, hypocritical rules that were taken for granted as being "right" by my peers."

Exactly. As usual, getting a realistic insider's look of an illegal lifestyle is bound to be much more honest than a critical one written by an outsider. But what do I know? It cd all be bullshit. I take it for granted that it isn't though. I particularly liked Black's description of being stuck up himself as an older man. There're no heroics or daring macho behavior on his part. Even as a old hand himself he was still taken by surprise.… (more)

this was a super surprise sleeper hit for me. i read it on a whim after hearing about it on a podcast and it's become one of my favourite books ever. the story told is an inspirational one, I'm guessing slightly embellished but it's hard to get upset if so because at the end of the day it's just talking about a guy and his life. it's not like something like the irishman book where if believed, means the author had a large hand in shaping world history. this is just, some guy, and that's how i like it. highly recommend… (more)

Smiler - “Kid, I’ll never try to rob another Mormon. I’ll go to work first.”

The author, Salt Chunk Mary, the Sanctimonious Kid (Sanc), Civil War veterans and all manner of ’yeggs’, vags, bums, winos, and ‘hypos’ fill this book with a cornucopia of colorful characters! Heck, even Bat Masterson is in here! And the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco! Black is a thief, albeit not a very lucky one, and his travels across the U.S.A. and Canada, and his travels through the jail cells of both countries, are quite an adventure to read about! He describes everything with great detail, including his heroin addiction, and he even gives his opinions on prison reform and ways to improve the legal/justice system. But it's his adventures that make this such a good read, and one can see the impact this book, and those adventures, would have on future generations, especially Kerouac and the Beats. This almost reads like a thief's version of "On the Road"! I sure am glad I picked it up!… (more)

i have read two autobiographies in a row now, and they couldn't be more different--Chateaubriand and Jack Black! No, not that Jack Black. This is former criminal and hobo Jack Black, who published this book in 1926. Like Chateaubriand, he gives an incisive picture of his life and times. Of course, the milieu is a bit different. Chateaubriand has the French Revolution for a background, whereas Jack Black has hobo jungles, cheap hotels, and prison. Both write well, however, although in very different ways. Chateaubriand's work is a literary masterpiece. You Can't Win is a masterpiece of straightforward storytelling using the jargon of the times. Both authors were well read, actually. Chateaubriand seems to have read every book ever written. Black, mostly during his spells in prison, had lots of time to read as well, and even ended up as a newspaper librarian once he decided to go straight, a few years before publishing his autobiography. So, while you might not be quoting or underlining passages in Black's book for their literary quality, you'll certainly remembers his stories of his apprenticeship in crime from a series of colorful, criminal, but somehow admirable characters--some of whom meet very bad ends. The preparation for the crimes and the details of how they were committed is fascinating. Home burglaries took place while the victims were asleep, and since valuables such as wallets and jewelry were usually kept in the bedrooms, that's where the thief went. Even if it meant putting a hand under a sleeping victim's pillow to find the loot. Other heists are a bit simpler, but not usually. And so many things can go wrong, as we learn from this chronicle. Of course, Black ends up in jail or prison. Jails of all types and prisons of all types, including in Canada, where a good portion of the book takes place. We also get interesting pictures of Chicago, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and other places. Criminals must travel. The book uses a few words to describe ethnicities that aren't politically correct, but Black doesn't seem to bear any animus to any race or creed. He goes out of his way to praise the Mormons he did time with, for instance (most of the polygamists) for their generosity in sharing everything they had. Black also attests to the honesty of Chinese. He spent quite a bit of time with them due to his hop (opium) habit, which is one of the interesting sub-plots of the book.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book, as I did the first part of Chateaubriand's Memoirs from Beyond the Grave. Unfortunately, there is no sequel by Black. He apparently died just six years after this book was published, a presumed suicide. Details are sketchy--he disappeared and is presumed to have taken his own life after coming to the point where he didn't feel like living any more. This readiness for death is also a trait he shares with Chateaubriand--who just kept on living even when he had little interest in doing so!… (more)